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We'll move the earth for a title!Sat, 01 Aug 2015 22:04:08 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3The other side of the coinhttp://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/12/16/the-other-side-of-the-coin/
http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/12/16/the-other-side-of-the-coin/#commentsFri, 16 Dec 2011 20:42:58 +0000http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/?p=2797Yesterday my wonderful colleague Jeremy detailed the Nuggets 2011-12 season outlook in a post titled, How Good Can the Denver Nuggets Be?In it he expressed his concern over how this year’s team would play without a “chip” on its shoulder, without enough good defensive players in addition to how the Nuggets would be affected by losing Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler to the Chinese Basketball Association. In the end Jeremy stated, “For Nuggets fans who could not stomach the thought of rebuilding, you got your wish. They will be a playoff team for the foreseeable future, but I fear that is all they will be.” Though this may be true, I’m here to tell you why that may not be such a bad thing after all.

Long-tenured Nuggets fans need to stop living in the past. I’ve echoed this sentiment many times since my arrival here and Roundball Mining Co. I understand the history of this franchise and the years of ineptitude featuring horrible nightmares that became reality when players like Raef LaFrentz, Tony Battie, Nikoloz Tskitishvili were selected ahead of Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler, Carlos Boozer, Luis Scola, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Rashard Lewis and Tracy McGrady. But the thing that perplexes me is why, after all these years of botched draft picks, Nuggets fans still actually want to revisit this place of misery just for the chance of maybe, if you’re really lucky,landing a top pick in a historical draft class.

Have Nuggets fans forgotten how many years of pain and anguish they had to endure before thankfully landing Carmelo Anthony in 2003?

Prior to Melo’s arrival in the early part of the past decade, the Denver Nuggets hadn’t had a winning season in 10 years. Ten years!!! That was all supposed to be “rebuilding,” am I right? That was supposed to be the quick, “suck for a few years in order to land the next Tim Duncan then we’ll be poised to win a title” plan, correct? Well what happened? What took so long? More importantly, where were all of you when this “rebuilding” was going on? I’m sure each and every one of you rushed home from work weaving in and out of traffic so that you could catch the Nuggets losing by double-digits on a nightly basis. I know every year that ushered in another sub-30-win season brought countless, treasured moments of joy and happiness into your lives. I’m sure that, come November and during the holidays, you couldn’t wait to drop a couple hundred dollars on Nuggets merchandise that you could proudly wear out in public in honor of your favorite losing basketball team.

Get real.

Losing sucks. Nobody likes it, nobody aims for it in professional sports. In fact, if you do, I wouldn’t even call you a sports fan. I don’t care if you’re this year’s version of the Indianapolis Colts and you’ve got a chance to land what’s perceived to be the best quarterback since, ironically the one on your own roster, in Peyton Manning. If you’re hoping to lose, then you’re going against the very essence of what sports are about. If you want to lose, you should just pack up your stuff, move to Vegas and settle down for a life of monotonous slot-pulling, deserted casino-wondering, green clear-cup alcohol-drinking loneliness.

Me, I like to win. I’ve enjoyed this past seven years in Nuggets history and I don’t think I necessarily want to relinquish this glory simply because Carmelo Anthony went and got all “Mr. Big City” on us. No, I’m ready to continue winning. And you should be too. Because thankfully, for the first time in Denver Nuggets’ existence, we have a front office that can deliver us excellence year in and year out. And the very thought of tanking it, is a slap in their face.

Last summer when Masai Ujiri joined the Nuggets he walked into a living room with a geyser spouting through the roof. Most people would have panicked. They would have run to the phone, called the plumper and sat on their porch despondent and terrified of all the water damage. But Masai was, and still is, a different breed. When he walked into a jet stream of perilous force he took matters into his own hands. Of course, he knew at some point he’d have to call the plumber, but he immediately rushed to his tool kit, gathered up his necessary materials needed to stop the leak and got down to work reducing its potency. He couldn’t stop the flooding entirely and for a while things continued to get wet. But in the end he chose to do something about it and instead of having to “rebuild” an entire house because the damage was so bad, he was able to salvage most of his possessions and in the process somehow convinced insurance to give him the funds neccesary to remodel his entire living room.

That’s the type of guy Masai Ujiri is, and it’s an insult to him, his values and beliefs to expect him not to do his job and let Carmelo Anthony, the Creative Arts Agency goons and that geyser of his get the best of him. We should be thankful a million times over to have a general manager of his clout running this team, on our side, as we watch him pull one amazing maneuver after another. Now, after multiple different “fixes” Masai has again put us in a position to succeed, and most importantly, he did it when all the odds were against him, when there was virtually no sign of hope.

What Masai Ujiri has essentially done over the past calender year is erase countless seasons of futility we would have suffered through the “rebuilding” process and it baffles me how anybody could not be incredibly thankful for this shortcut. Instead of having to lose in order to get a top pick in the draft, Masai has allowed us to win and still retain this possibility. That is something only the very best general managers in sports are capable of doing. Because of his shrewd business complex, the Nuggets now have enough pieces to put together a trade for that “superstar” everyone seems so googly-eyed over.

But perhaps the one aspect of rebuilding people seem to consistently undervalue time and time again, is luck. Jeremy, of all people, knows this best as he put together an excellent piece not too long ago that expanded on the intricacies of fortune its omnipotent control over the NBA. It’s a single ping pong ball, knee injury or group of collegiate athletes that each year, more than anything, determines the success of a franchise. And while one lucky team perennially gets that coveted bounce, snap or crop, a dozen or so other teams pony up for yet another long year of “rebuilding” in hopes of being that one special team 365 days later.

This year it’s Anthony Davis. Oooohhh, Anthony Davis. Long, athletic, a near-7-footer, defensive-minded — he’s it. He’s what it’s all about, right? He’s what Nuggets fans who want to rebuild are salivating over, regardless of how miniscule our chances really are of landing him. But that’s alright because you guys are the Vegas types. Unfavorable odds are what you live for.

But boy do I have some news for you. I-I-I don’t know how to say this, but… that Anthony Davis guy… the one you want to dedicate years of frustration and failure for… he’s actually not what you think. You see, that’s kind of the problem, the whole antithesis of this entire “rebuilding” plan. He’s not the next Tim Duncan nor Hakeem Olajuwon. I mean, I hate to break your hearts and everything, but he’s actually more like the next Marcus Camby or Tyson Chandler. But hey! He’s still gonna be a member of the Denver Nuggets and primary cornerstone of the franchise forever right? Right!? RIGHT!?!?!

Well, we’re rebuilding, remember? So by now, Nene’s gone. Who’s to say what ever ended up with Afflalo. That guy is a winner and he doesn’t want to stick around for the rebuilding processes. OK, but at least we have Marcus Camby locked down for the foreseeable future. I mean, he’s not exactly the guy we all thought he would be but we’ll surely win a title with him down the road anyways. But… by the time he’s challenging for an All-Star spot who knows what will have happened to Ty and Danilo Gallinari!?! Those guys also like to win and I wouldn’t be surprised if they exercised their qualifying offer in order to become an unrestricted free agent and rid themselves of this losing mentality for good. Then where would be? Right back to square one?!? Rebuilding AGAIN?!? I guess people don’t really want to stick around during this whole rebuilding stint do they? Whether it be fans, players owners or whoever else. Because when it doesn’t work, when this dream scenario of intentionally losing to secure the next Kobe Bryant doesn’t actually work out the way you intended, it’s kind of a disaster. The type of disaster that can lose you a franchise forever…

Back to reality, and speaking of Kobe Bryant, did you know he was actually selected 13th overall instead of going top five? But that’s not even the real kicker. The funny thing is, on draft day, he didn’t want to go to a franchise with a losing culture so instead forced a trade to a different franchise with a history of winning, one that possessed assets that enabled it to move up in the draft and trade for him. Those two teams who exchanged that infamous draft-day deal were the Los Angeles Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets.

So I ask you Nuggets fans: Who do you want to be? Do you want to be the Charlotte Hornets, a team that’s no longer even in it’s original location and was forced to move because it chose to “rebuild” one year too many, or would rather be the Los Angeles Lakers, a team with stalactites made of championship banners and stones on their fingers carved out of excellence?

Look, we’re obviously not ever going to bet he Lakers, but you understand the parallel I’m making about building a winning culture and capitalizing on it by trading up in the draft if necessary to secure that next great shooting guard or power forward. The point is, losing intentionally for one year is the recipe for losing perpetually. Building a franchise entrenched with success only further increases your chances of continuing that success forever. Don’t blame Masai Ujiri for doing his job. Don’t hold the fact that he wants to succeed against him. Anthony Davis isn’t going to win a a championship for you, but Jeremy Lamb — currently projected to be a mid-lottery pick — definitely could if surrounded by a talented squad like the Nuggets. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to lose in order to win. And though everyone’s goal is to one day win a championship, realistically very few teams ever actually reach this pantheon of greatness. What sports are really about is consistency and maintaining a winning mentality, after year, after year. Sure, we’ll likely have a few seasons where we finish as a five-seed, but I promise you that if we continue pushing forward striving for perfection we’ll eventually maximize the return on our assets and reach that beloved goal of winning a championship that we all collectively dream about.

In our second installment of the 3-on-3 series we’ll be examining Nene’s impact on the future of the Nuggets organization now that he has re-signed. Tom Ley, author of our recent Fan Mail feature on J.R. Smith, is back again after being the quickest to respond on Twitter to our request for someone to participate in this week’s 3-on-3. If you want to participate next time be sure and follow all of us on Twitter! And as always, don’t be shy to participate by giving your personal responses to the following questions in the comments section below!

1. With Nene re-signed and Afflalo likely not far behind, how high can the Nuggets finish in the Western Conference?

Tom: I’m fairly optimistic about the Nuggets’ chances this year, and I don’t think a repeat as the fifth seed in the West is out of the question. The teams that I currently see as undeniably superior are the Mavericks, Lakers, Clippers, and Thunder. The Spurs and Grizzlies are wildcards in my opinion, whose success or failure could greatly swing the Nuggets chances one way or the other. For now though, I’m hoping for a five seed.

Kalen: The only teams I think Denver won’t be able to top are San Antonio and Oklahoma City, otherwise the West looks pretty wide open. The Lakers just gave away the reigning Sixth Man of the Year for nothing, plus they’re injury-plagued and old, meanwhile Dallas lost by far its most important player outside of Dirk in Tyson Chandler, not to mention J.J. Barea and Caron Bulter. If Afflalo re-signs this team is immediately just as deep, if not more so than the team that finished off the year as the hottest in the NBA in 2010-11.

Jeremy: I believe Denver is a lower level playoff team. San Antonio, the Lakers, Dallas, Oklahoma City and Memphis are all clearly better than Denver. Portland is going to be solid, Houston will be decent and of course now the Clippers are a clear playoff team and I believe they will finish ahead of the Nuggets. Their fantastic depth will help win regular season games, and may help them finish ahead of one or two teams who have more talent. However, come playoff time Denver will struggle to defeat one of the top four teams in the West.

2. What type of numbers should we expect from Nene now that he’ll be playing power forward?

Tom: I’m hoping that a return to his comfort zone will mean Nene becomes a much more aggressive offensive player than he was last year. As much as I love to watch Nene pass the ball, I’d like to see him get it on the block and be assertive in ways that he hasn’t in the past. What’s more, I’d love to see him get out and run the floor with Lawson leading the break. If he does all of these things, I’m confident that he can get above 20 points per game while maintaining his patented excellent shooting percentage.

Kalen: About the same as last year. Because he’ll be playing against smaller competition I could see Nene increasing his numbers across the board, but I don’t expect him to suddenly morph into an All-Star like many Nuggets fans do. After ten years in the league, we simply need to accept Nene for who he is, not who we think he should be. He’s never averaged over 15 points or eights rebounds per game in his career and though I could see this changing with a move to power forward, its just as easy seeing it remain the same given the copious amount of depth the Nuggets have across the board that will likely cut down on his playing time.

Jeremy: I do not believe Nene will be putting in a lot of time at power forward until I see it. The truth is, with the current roster Nene remains the best option at center for Denver. Timofey Mozgov is a big body but he’s not particularly talented; plus, with consistent minutes comes consistent foul trouble. Chris Andersen can play center, but that option has been available to George Karl in the past without being utilized. Karl has constantly had the option of going big or small and he almost exclusively chooses to play small. Nene will certainly play more at power forward than in the past, but I honestly do not think it will be as much as others are projecting and when it’s all said and done, Nene will most likely post his typical 15 and 7.5.

3. With Nene locked down for the next five years, what will become of Faried?

Tom: I’m officially concerned about Faried’s future. Karl’s comments from earlier in the week about Faried’s minutes were less than encouraging, and that was before Nene re-signed. I see Karl sticking to a rotation of Nene/Harrington/Mozgov/Koufos and burying Faried on the bench. This is unfortunate, because I think Faried could be a fantastic energy guy off the bench in the mold of Glen Davis or DeJuan Blair. It’s much more likely that Faried will spend this season acting as the Nuggets token dreadlocked bench warmer, in lieu of the dearly departed Renaldo Balkman.

Kalen: This is a tough pill to swallow for a diehard Manimal fan like me. Though I never, ever, actually wanted Nene to leave, there was always that notion back in the deep, dark caverns of my mind that was OK with it simply so that more playing time would open up for Faried. If Nene gets too comfortable at the power forward spot I pray Faried doesn’t find himself the subject of trade bait. However, I still think once Faried gets going Karl will be forced to forgo his stubborn habit of mistreating rookies, as his energy and rebounding prowess simply cannot be ignored. I fully expect Faried to play a big role this season and for years to come with the Nuggets.

Jeremy: As you may expect from my previous answer I see Faried playing power forward, probably even alongside Nene at times. If Nene has to play center as much as I anticipate he will, Faried is the best option at power forward. He will rebound and plays with great energy. It may take a while for George Karl to warm up to him, but I suspect by the midpoint of the season Faried will be putting in consistent minutes. I cannot see Karl playing Al Harrington more than Faried, at least I hope I do not have to see that. The rookie who has seen his playing time disappear based on the handful of moves over the previous couple of days is Jordan Hamilton. Faried will be fine.

]]>http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/12/14/3-on-3-nenes-impact/feed/27Breaking down ESPN’s #NBArank of the Denver Nuggets: Part 2http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/10/27/breaking-down-espns-nbarank-of-the-denver-nuggets-part-2/
http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/10/27/breaking-down-espns-nbarank-of-the-denver-nuggets-part-2/#commentsFri, 28 Oct 2011 00:47:34 +0000http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/?p=2597In Part 1 of this short series we examined the Denver Nuggets who landed outside the Top 100 of ESPN’s #NBArank list, which attempted to tabulate the best 500 players in the entire league. To conclude our analytical process of determining just how accurate these rankings are, we’re going to inspect the remaining Denver Nuggets — those who are perceived by our fellow TrueHoop family members, as some of the best 100 players in the entire NBA.

No. 89: Andre Miller

I think I speak for most Nuggets fans when I say we’re thrilled to see Dre back in Denver. As a backup who will assume the role of a mentor to the emerging Ty Lawson — just as Chauncey Billups did until his departure (minus the backup part) — Miller’s numbers will almost undoubtedly plummet due to this diminishing role (and age); however, his impact on the young Lawson will be immeasurable. Admittedly, I haven’t seen much of Miller since he left Denver in the Allen Iverson trade roughly five years ago, therefore I feel a little guilty in attempting to determine how accurate his ranking is, but judging by his recent playoff performances as well as his position alongside aging, former All-Stars, such as Chris Kaman (N0. 88), Andrei Kirilenko (No. 90) and Caron Butler (No. 87), he seems to be doing just fine.

Conclusion: Just right

No. 78: Arron Afflalo

This, this is a tough call. I love AAA just as much as the next Nugget fan and am entirely on board to overpay him simply so that he remains a Nugget — but that’s the totally biased Nugget fan in me speaking. As for my other half, the objective NBA mega-fan side, that part of me is a bit skeptical about Afflalo being ranked ahead of guys like Raymond Felton (No. 80) and Andrea Bargnani (No. 81), while being just one spot behind multi-single season 20 points per game scorer, Stephen Jackson (No. 77). Look, I value Afflalo’s shooting percentages, defense and intelligence tremendously, and place the utmost amount of importance on those characteristics, as I understand just how valuable they are to any NBA team; however, I’d have a real hard time honestly telling you that the Nugget are a better team with Afflalo, rather than Bargnani or Jackson. I guess what people miss, who don’t regularly watch the Nuggets, is the fact that Afflalo is largely a systematic type of player, in that almost all of his points come off spot up 3-pointers and the occasional free throw attempt. When driving to the basket — though he is improving — Afflalo is still incredibly novice, in large part due to the fact that his ball-handeling skills and athleticism simply aren’t his best attributes. And though his defense is probably Top 5 in terms of shooting guards in the NBA, it’s not the type of defense that drives Kobe Bryant crazy and forces him to miss easy shots, a la Ron Artest (No. 97) or Tony Allen (No. 72); it’s actually more of a blue-collar, mirror-your-man type of defense. Now it may sound like I’m being nitpicky, but that’s the type of attitude you must possess when considering these rankings. So I guess the question we have to ask is, “How much value should be placed on solid defense, great 3-point shooting and a high basketball IQ, and should these elements outweigh the ability to go out and drop 20 on a nightly basis?” Let’s do keep in mind here, that Afflalo has been in the league for four years now, and though he has gotten better each year, he’s never averaged over 13 points per game in his career. All this said, should Afflalo come out guns-a-blazin’ next season, average 15 points per game on the same great shooting percentages and show the ability to score the rock by creating his own offense, we could be potentially be looking at a Top 50 player in the NBA. For now, his ranking is somewhere in the neighborhood of where it probably should be.

Conclusion: About right, though maybe a bit too high

No. 75: Wilson Chandler

At 75, Chandler finds himself in about the perfect position. I do think he’s a tad bit better than Afflalo at this point in his career, and yet, still has a lot of room for improvement. I really only saw Chandler for about three months up close and personal, but that was more than enough time for me to gauge just how talented this guy is. In fact, at times Chandler impressed me way more than Danilo Gallinari, because while “Gallo” was off firing countless ill-advised 3-pointers and turning the ball over as he drove to the hole with a reckless abandon, Chandler was cool, calm and collected, often times doing the dirty work behind the scenes. But more than anything, I just love Chandler’s game. He’s never going to blow you away with one specific skill, but he’s as solid as solid gets when it comes to being a complete NBA talent. On many occasions Chandler would finish off a game with the most blocks on the entire Nuggets squad all en route to notching 15 points, seven rebounds and a few steals as well. Still, if there’s one thing that puzzles me about Chandler, it’s his ghost-like ability to appear and disappear at any given moment in time, but more frustratingly, his ability to regress throughout an entire season. For example, this past year Chandler was averaging about 18 points and two blocks per game for the first three months of the regular season; after joining the Nuggets in late February, Chandler saw averages of 12.5 points per game in March, 10.2 in April and a whopping 4.8 in the Playoffs. My question: What the HELL happened from December to May?!? Anyways, Chandler clearly has some growing to do in the Consistency Department, but overall I think he’s the type of player that helps you win games way more than he loses them for you by not showing up.

Conclusion: Just right

No. 68: Danilo Gallinari

I’ve been a pretty harsh critic of Gallinari ever since he joined the Nuggets, and I’ll tell you exactly why: My expectations were never met. After being taken sixth overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, sandwiched between Kevin Love (No. 16) and Eric Gordon (No. 39) along with all the hype in the world as one of the best European players since Dirk Nowitzki (No. 5), Gallo was primed to be a total stud four years down the road. Well, here we are, it’s 2011, and Gallo has yet to average over 15 points per game for a single season in his entire career. Many Gallo supporters point to the fact that “He’s only 23!!!” and to that, I say, “So…???” Do you know what Derrick Rose (No. 8), Kevin Durant (No. 6), Blake Griffin (No. 10), Stephen Curry (No. 38), Russell Westbrook (No. 14), Kevin Love (No. 16), Eric Gordon (No. 39), Tyreke Evans (No. 47), Brook Loopez (No. 51), Serge Ibaka (No. 56), James Harden (No. 58), Brandon Jennings (No. 60), Mike Conley (No. 65) and a fellow teammate of Gallinari’s all have in common? Well, as you may have guessed by their ranking number, they’re all higher than Gallo; but did you know, they’re also all the same age, or even younger? Oh, and one more thing, only Durant and Conley have played more seasons in the NBA than Gallo: one. My point is that this is the NBA; once you get here, age is irrelevant. Everyone in the league is a man. This isn’t organized youth sports where age limits are enforced. This is the best of the best, regardless of how old you are. Obviously Gallo has a ton of potential, but similar to J.R., I fear we could end up proclaiming each new season THE year for Gallo to finally break out of his shell, and before you know it, seven years of his career have passed without any significant increase in production. Just look at his numbers. For three straight years now he’s hovered around 15 points per game. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called a plateau, which is unusual for a guy teeming with “potential.” You see, to me, potential is a lot like like fishing. You can wait, and wait, and wait, but after a certain amount of time, you simply have to acknowledge the fact that they just aren’t biting. I feel Gallo is approaching this point in his career. If I had to bet, this upcoming season is his make-or-break year. Should he finally start scoring in the upper teens on a nightly basis, I’ll be willing to acknowledge that he still has room to grow, but should we see another 15 points per game year, I might consider giving Jordan Hamilton a chance to start just to see what happens. All this said, I truly do like Gallo, both as a player and a person and truly do hope that he finally breaks out and remains a Nugget for the foreseeable future. He’s shown a lot, and I mean a lot,of heart on both sides of the ball and has been more than willing to incorporate himself into the team as a Nugget ever since his arrival in Denver. Surrounded by players like Devin Harris (No. 69), Kyle Lowry (No. 66) and Mike Conley (No. 65), I feel Gallo is probably right where he belongs — amongst guys who are still young and full of potential, but not that young and full of potential.

Conclusion: Just right

No. 64: Ty Lawson

Readers of this blog are well aware of my feelings regarding Ty Lawson. I’ve proclaimed on multiple occasions (nearly every time I write), how Ty Lawson — to me — represents the future of this franchise. I say this for two reasons really: First, he’s still young; and second, unlike Gallo, I’ve seen huge steps in his game even though the numbers don’t necessarily display this notion. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I think the rest of the league is in for quite the shock once this season finally gets underway, and much like Faried, this is the part of the process where trying to rank over 500 players gets a little tricky. If you haven’t watched Ty Lawson play, and simply glanced at his numbers, you’d probably wonder why he’s even close to the Top 50, but if you’ve watched on a number of occasions, specifically during the last two months of the 2011 season, you’ll know exactly why he’s ranked so high. Speed, athleticism, ball-handeling, even shooting at times — these are all aspects of Ty Lawson’s game that he’s more than exceptional at. I watch a lot of basketball, and I can’t say that I’ve seen a quicker player with the ball in his hands than Ty Lawson. Standing at a diminutive 5-11, he’s able to remain relatively low to the ground, thus allowing himself to complete two dribbles in the time than a normal NBA player usually completes one. He’s fantastic at using this unique skill to manuever in and out of traffic at will, often times ending his frantic scurry with a pinpoint pass to one of his fellow teammates. And this is perhaps where I see Lawsons’ greatest strength: assists. His skills, and overall potential as a ball player were on full display on April 9, 2011, when he tied J.R. Smith’s record for the most 3-point field goals made in a single game in Denver Nuggets history, with 11 (second all time in NBA history, by the way) — a feat astounding in it’s own right, and one that nobody saw coming. That, is the type of potential you must witness out of a young, promising prospect that allows you to see “the light” that we just haven’t quite seen yet out of Gallinari. His 14.6 points on .509 percent from the field, 6.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game as a starter this past season are a solid indicator of just how much progress he made in one year, and keep in mind, this was even with Raymond Felton in the lineup. With the unquestioned full reign as the starting point guard of the Denver Nuggets, which should see him average at least 35 minutes per game, I expect Lawson to make a strong push for a stat line around 18 points, eight assists and two steals per game this upcoming season, which should be enough to land him a spot in the Top 50 of ESPN’s #NBArank in 2012. Until then, No. 64 overall will have to do.

Conclusion: Just right (for the national audience), too low (for Nuggets fans)

No. 31: Nene

Much to my surprise, Nene comes in as the highest ranked member of the Denver Nuggets, at No. 31 overall. Here’s the thing: Not only do I know that there’s at least 30 players who are better than Nene in the NBA, but I’m entirely convinced there’s at least 40 as well. Look, both Jeremy and I have made it no secret that we feel the Nuggets future hinges on whether Nene re-signs or leaves via free agency, and his importance to this Nuggets squad cannot be overstated, but have to ask, does pure importance automatically translate into pure skill? Hell, I felt Kenyon Martin was about as important to the Nuggets 2009 Western Conference Finals run as anybody, but that doesn’t mean in any way, shape or form that I’d be willing to rank him in the Top 30 amongst all NBA players that season. Obviously because Nene plays the center position, which is clearly the most sought-after position on the floor, he’s going to be looked at differently, as there are only a handful of really solid NBA centers in the entire league. But to me, when you’re ranking players individually (i.e. by skill level, abilities, etc.), this whole “importance of position” factor flies out the window. Quite honestly, I’m baffled at how it even factored into the consideration of many of the participants. If you look at the NBA right now, the center position is extremely depleted. Other than Dwight Howard, there really isn’t a dominant center in the game today; therefore, what ends up happening is guys like Tyson Chandler (No. 37), Marc Gasol (No. 26) and Andrew Bynum (No. 30) are being overcompensated for. You tell me, how would these three players be perceived in the ’90s, or virtually any other decade for that matter? I mean, just because we’re going through a golden age of points guards, does that mean they should be penalized because there’s an overabundance? That’s certainly the message I’m receiving from the TrueHoop voters. Anyways, much like J.R. and K-Mart, the national perception of Nene is, without question, entirely skewed, because there is just no way on Earth that I’d take Nene over Joe Johnson (No. 32), Danny Granger (No. 36), Stephen Curry (No. 38), John Wall (No. 40), Monta Ellis (No. 41) or Josh Smith (N0. 43). But again, his role and level of importance to this specific Nuggets squad is crucial.

So what did we learn throughout this entire process of ranking the NBA’s best 500 players? I think that for the most part, guys were about where they belonged, but I also got the sense that, at times, this felt all too similar to the fan-style of voting for All-Star games. I think too often guys got placed higher on this list because they were on winning teams (see: Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and for crying out loud, Jose Juan Barea, who never should have cracked the Top 100), when the fact of the matter is, one year ago all three of the Mavericks mentioned above were viewed in a almost scrub-like fashion. Let’s be clear: This was a ranking of individual talent, not how well certain players fit into certain teams. Monta Ellis, for example, has never played with an overwhelming amount of talent, yet is penalized for it and then on top of that, is somehow viewed as a “chucker,” never mind the fact that he has a higher career field goal percentage than Kobe Bryant. So the concept of ranking players individually, based on talent instead of the type of situation they were in, was probably the greatest flaw of this entire system. Also, as I pointed out in the Faried section of this series, there’s a lot of bench players and rookies, that get such a small amount of playing time, that only those team’s writers can really evaluate them. In my opinion, the bottom 200 players don’t deserve to be ranked, because for the most part their position was arbitrary. As I said before, who’s to say that Malik Allen is a better player than Melvin Ely right now? And how does Bismack Biyombo find his way ahead of Kenneth Faried? Bottom line: If the TrueHoop Network has a desire to continue expanding it’s level of credibility, it might be wise to not bite of more than it can chew. Similar to a dining experience, when you have 100-plus items on the menu, it can take away from the quality of the product. Maybe next time, just ranking the top 250 would be a better decision. But again, overall, not bad.

]]>http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/10/27/breaking-down-espns-nbarank-of-the-denver-nuggets-part-2/feed/7Nuggets Newshttp://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/07/14/nuggets-news/
http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/07/14/nuggets-news/#commentsFri, 15 Jul 2011 01:24:50 +0000http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/?p=2514As the lockout continues to leave bloggers across the country scavenging every corner of the Internet for content, Roundball ponies up, whips out the pickaxe and goes digging for Nuggets’ gold in the form of (mostly) weird web stories.

First up, Roundball’s favorite dreadlock-donning defensive-minded mayhem-mastermind known as Kenneth Faried, dunks all over the place at a scrimmage in L.A.’s Drew League. For those unfamiliar, the Drew League is basically small conglomerate of different teams that consist mostly of local streetball legends, but during the summertime (especially in the midst of a lockout) NBA and collegiate players alike join in on the fun to demonstrate in front of a lively crowd, just how down and dirty they can get. In the video above Faried is absolutely killin’ it, even going so far as to jam a monster one-handed, self-assisted ally-oop off the glass. But this summer hasn’t been all glamor for the recent Nuggets draft pick. According to Ryan Feldman of The Hoops Report, Faried underwhelmed in his appearance at the Delco Pro-Am (another semi-professional summer league) in Philadelphia where he posted a measly stat line of four points and six rebounds in nearly 35 minutes of court action. Here’s a few tweets from Feldman, who attended the game in person:

Although Feldman is an excellent blogger, his mock draft and player analysis this year were questionable. Concerns about one semi-professional scrimmage during a lockout year seems a bit hasty to me. Nevertheless, Portland fans took great pleasure in hearing this news, and thus with much disdain, overwhelming concluded that passing on Faried was the right move.

It’s good to see J.R.’s keeping himself in shape during the lockout, but whether it’s the Nuggets or another NBA franchise he’s doing it for, is still up in the air. Eric Pincus of Hoops World thinks this team might very well be the Minnesota Timberwolves. Why? Because it makes the lease amount of sense — which actually makes a lot of sense. The Wolves do still need a shooting guard, and J.R is one of the better ones on the market. It should be noted that Pincus also predicts Nene will re-sign with the Nuggets, yet this conclusion is met much more logically, which is a good sign for Nuggets’ fans.

J.R.’s replacement, should he leave (Jordan Hamilton), recently gave DIME Magazine an exclusive peek into his extensive shoe collection, while also taking a few minutes (towards the end of the video) to reflect on how he might be able to help the Nuggets win basketball games whenever the next NBA season gets underway. When asked if he could be the Nuggets’ go-to scorer, Hamilton replied, “I think I can be that guy.” Here are some other resonating quotes from Hamilton:

Every night I’m going to bring it. Every night I’m going to have energy… play my heart out… I want to be one of the top scoring leaders in the rookie class.

As for Hamilton’s counterpart on the depth chart, apparently he’s a hot commodity. So hot in fact, that Zach Lowe recently ranked Arron Afflalo the top wing free agent of the entire 2011 class ahead of guys like Jason Richardson, Tayshaun Prince, Caron Butler, Jamal Crawford, Marcus Thorton, Nick Young and fellow Nuggets, J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler. This says a lot about how Afflalo is perceived around the league, as well as how much we’re likely going to have to pay to secure his services in Denver.

]]>http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/07/14/nuggets-news/feed/14Merry Christmas Nuggets Fans…and some other thoughtshttp://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2010/12/25/christmas-trade-article/
http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2010/12/25/christmas-trade-article/#commentsSat, 25 Dec 2010 21:55:44 +0000http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/?p=1904First of all I’d like to wish a Merry Christmas to RMC’s founder and main man Jeremy Wagner for bringing me on board and running THE best Nuggets blog out there-it’s been a great couple of months and I’m looking forward to many more in the future.

I’d also like to say thank you and Happy Holidays to all of our devoted readers here on Roundball Mining Company. Without you guys all this is just words on a page-here’s to a great 2011 for the Nuggets!

But now for the juicy stuff. A week ago today I had the good fortune of attending the Nuggets-T-Wolves game at the Pepsi Center, and for the first time in my 22 years I got to sit courtside at an NBA game (big shout out to John and Liz Fitzgerald for the seats), right next to Mrs. Chauncey Billups nonetheless! I’ve seen hundreds (probably thousands) of games on TV and many up in the nosebleeds, but let me tell you, if you’ve never seen a game from that up close, you get a chance to appreciate professional basketball like never before.

My girlfriend asked me who she should watch out for on the other team, and I said number 42, aka mister Kevin Love. After dropping a 30-30 game earlier this season, I was hoping for another masterful performance on this night (and a Nuggets victory of course), and he (and the game) did not disappoint. K-Love scored a career-high 43 points to go with 17 boards, but the Wolves rally late fell short and the Nuggets won 115-113, a margin that should have been much larger. No Chauncey, Bird, or K-Mart was disappointing but J.R. had a decent offensive game, Afflalo added 17 and Ty, “The Law”-son was the player of the game, dropping 23 points to go along with 9 dimes and 3 steals. As quick as the guy looks on television, triple it from up close. He had his way with first Luke Ridnour, then Johnny Flynn, getting to the hoop with ease.

But alas, not all was merry on this night, as the Nuggets bigs (especially Nene) were in foul trouble the whole game and were dominated down low by Love and Kosta Koufos. Yes, Kosta Koufos.

Yet the Nuggets did just enough to win, and I will again emphasize a point I made in my last post- this can be an above average NBA team without Carmelo Anthony. If they can get a solid return for Melo, a trade should be the way to go. I know you may want to hold onto those number 15 jerseys for as long as possible, but we have to face the reality that Melo will sign with the Knicks this summer (lockout pending) and that getting nothing in return is not an acceptable end result.

Who Should Denver trade Melo to?

Here’s the rub Nuggets fans. Melo wants to go to New York. New Jersey has the pieces to trade for him but doesn’t want a three-month rental. And the contenders that might (Dallas, Orlando) either don’t have the pieces or won’t part with them. So let’s analyze the possible scenarios:

Looking at this trade on paper it might be as good as the Nuggets could do. Yes it may require another draft pick from Dallas, and yes Denver would probably have to trade either K-Mart or Birdman in a separate trade to free up the frontcourt logjam, but it could work. Dallas adds Melo to an already solid core of Kidd, Nowitzki, Chandler, Terry and Marion and gets rid of Haywood’s contract and uninspired play (and allows youngsters Ian Mahinmi and Alexis Ajinca to see time at backup center). Denver gets a solid starting three to replace Melo (which keeps J.R. as the super-sixth man), and can move Nene to power forward (where he truly belongs) alongside Haywood in the starting lineup.

Korver has to be thrown in to make the salaries work, but also gives Denver a three-point shooter off the bench (Korver is much more efficient from downtown than J.R.) that they could throw into another possible trade with K-Mart or Bird. Obviously Nuggets fans would like to see Joakim Noah wear the powder blue and gold but it’s evident that the Bulls will not part with their young center. In this deal the Nugs would get stuck with Deng’s extremely bloated contract, but also get a decent small forward who can score along with another solid player in Gibson who can play at either the 3 or 4 (and is an upgrade over Forbes off the bench). I’d prefer the Dallas trade over this one, but if Chicago offers this before the deadline, Denver might have to take it (if there are no better offers).

Melo to Philadelphia for Andre Iguodala, Darius Songalia and two first-round picks

OR

Melo to New Jersey for Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy and three first-round picks

This is when things get interesting. If you’re Masai Ujiri, would you rather have Igoudala (who becomes the small forward and team headliner for the foreseeable future), Songalia’s $5 million expiring contract (to go along with Smith [$6 million], Martin [$16 million] and possibly Billups [$13 million team option]) and picks, or the young big man in Favors, Murphy’s $11 million expiring deal, and possibly a third first-rounder? I predict New Jersey (who now has five first-round picks in the next two drafts) will throw a third first-rounder in to sweeten their offer, which may end up being as good as Denver will get. It’s either one of these two options, or take 50¢ on the dollar from the Knicks. Which brings us to this:

Melo and Renaldo Balkman to New York for Wilson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph and Knicks’ 2011 1st-round pick

As each day passes, Nuggets fans get closer and close to this becoming a reality. The Nuggets just don’t have a lot of leverage here (the impending lockout and Melo leaving $65 million on the table being the only reason for Melo to sign an extension) and knowing there’s a 99.9% chance he will bolt to New York this summer, Denver may as well take what they can get from the Knickerbockers. Now, if the Nets can convince Melo to sign an extension with them or the Sixers, Mavs, et al, are interested in a short-term lease then Denver may be able to get a better haul. I just don’t see it happening. Chandler is playing some great ball right now and I see him as a better fit with Denver than Gallinari (who wants to stay in New York); Randolph is getting absolutely no playing time with D’Antoni (surprisingly) and could fill in for Harrington and/or J.R. at the backup forward positions; and Curry’s 500 pound corpse (an exaggeration, but not by much) is clearly a salary dump.

But back to Randolph for a second. If the kid is given a chance, he could pan out to something. Those glimpses of explosiveness he showed at Golden State were not a fluke, and if his mid-range game can stay consistent, he could be a heck of a player. Could be the steal of this trade if given the chance by Coach Karl.

Anyways, hope you all have a great holiday weekend and hopefully the Nugs can pull out a tough road win tonight at the Thunder. Westbrook has been MVP-caliber at the point so far, Durant is on pace to win another scoring title and their role guys (like Collison, Ibaka, Green) do their jobs really well. These two squads always play each other tough and the outcome usually comes down to the wire (who can forget Melo’s game winner in Oklahoma City two years ago). Again, this one could come down to the play of Nene in the post, whose erratic play ranges from All-Star one game to fouling out with a 5 point, 5-rebound line the next (which he did against Minnesota). No Melo tonight, but J.R. should fill the scoring void nicely, and with K-Mart and Chauncey back in the starting lineup, I predict a Nuggets victory with a defensive stop at the finish-here’s hoping that’s not the eggnog talking!